1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the program debugging, and particularly to the implementation of visual indicators for source codes lines that are displayed within a graphical program-debugging environment.
2. Description of Background
Within a GUI program-debugging front-end environment, in the event that a program that was being debugged crashed, the debugger would allow a program developer to view the source code at the point of the program stoppage. Conventionally, debuggers have also been configured to execute a program step-by-step, thus allowing a developer to view each line of source code, in addition to ascertaining a current state, of a program as it is executed.
During an optimization phase of compilation the displayed source code lines may be re-ordered to reflect the reorganization of the underlying assembly instructions of the source code. Therefore, while debugging optimized computer source code, many developers frequently are confused when graphical indicators that point to a currently executed source code line displayed by the debugger jump in an indiscriminate manner among the lines of source code. For example, confusion occurs when a developer instructs the debugger to step forward one line, but due to the re-ordering of the instructions, the graphical indicator pointing to a current source code line steps backwards one or more lines, or conversely, skips forward more than one line.
Therefore, a need exists for a means for the implementation of a visual cue system for the indication of a currently executed, a previously executed, and a next executed source code lines that are displayed within a graphical program-debugging environment.